Outdoor Adventures
The best part about living in or visiting the Coachella Valley is ability to enjoy the outdoors most of the year.
Whether you’re looking for recreation, exercise, adventure, or all three, there are so many options for you and your family to experience the outdoors in the greater Palm Springs area! If you know where you want to explore click on the city name below, or scroll the list to find your next outdoor adventure!
I do my best to keep this list updated, but occasionally outdoor areas and venues will be closed for maintenance or due to weather damage, please check with the venue or organization to verify before heading out.
If you’re looking for more ideas for family friendly events and activities check out the Water Play and Indoor Experiences pages or subscribe to the Calendar of Events.
Cathedral City
Boomers
67-700 E Palm Canyon Dr.
Cathedral City, CA 92234
Have fun miniature golfing, riding bumper boats and go karts, climbing the rock wall, playing some arcade games, or testing your skills at the batting cages.
*FFCV Recommendation - Miniature golf, and boat rides (with an adult) are fun for all ages, all other attractions are best for school age kids.
Indio
Coachella Valley History Museum
82616 Miles Ave.
Indio, CA 92201
Experience the history of the Coachella Valley by exploring Pioneer Hall, a 1909 Indio Schoolhouse, The California Date Museum, Japanese Memorial Gardens, and other permanent and rotating exhibits in the Smiley-Tyler house.
La Quinta
La Quinta X Park
46170 Dune Palms Rd
La Quinta, CA 92253
La Quinta X Park is a fairly new facility, opened in 2022, and definitely the biggest skate park in the valley. The park has a variety of features for all skill levels including 3 bowls; a multi-level street course with rails, ledges, and quarterpipes; and my kids’ favorite, the pump track! This is the only pump track in the Coachella Valley, and it is worth the trip if you’re kids love to bike, scooter, skate, or skate board, but aren’t quite ready for the more advanced areas of the skate park.
*FFCV Tip - Folding scooters are not allowed in the park, but they do have scooters for rent if you need one!
Palm Desert
Living Desert Zoo & Gardens
47900 Portola Ave
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Experience more than 450 animals and desert plants from desert ecosystems from around the world. Families will love feeding the giraffes, learning how the animals are cared for, riding the endangered species carousel, and cooling off at the oasis splash pad.
*The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens is a Certified Autism Center.
The Golf Center at Palm Desert
74945 Sheryl Ave
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Home of the First Tee - Coachella Valley; a youth development program, the 9 hole, par 3 course is definitely built for kid-friendly golfing. In addition to the 9 hole course they have a 2 sided range (which is lit up at night), chipping greens, practice putting greens, and a practice bunker. Keep in mind this course does not have golf carts, it is a walking course only.
*FFCV Tip - Don’t worry if you don’t have clubs, they have rental clubs for all ages!
Palm Springs
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
1 Tram Way
Palm Springs, CA 92261
Enjoy beautiful views while you take a ride on a rotating tram car up to an elevation of 8,516 feet at Mountain Station. At the top of the mountain there are hiking trails, options for dining, a natural history museum, and observation decks to enjoy the beautiful views.
Prescott Preserve
S Farrell Rd. between Ramon Rd. & Mesquite Ave.
RF5J+XM7
Palm Springs, CA 92264
A protected preserve in the middle of Palm Springs offers a great walk for all ages. Flat, wide trails, with easy access. A chance to see lizards, squirrels, birds, bunnies, turtles, and water foul. Certain parts of the trail allow bikes and dogs on leash.
Rancho Mirage
Sunnylands
37977 Bob Hope Dr.
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Visit the historic property and former home of Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. View the current exhibition, explore the gardens with a self-guided audio walk, bring your binoculars to check out the birds, or learn about the property in a 20 minute information film. (Open mid-September through early June)